1. Field of the Invention
Among the many devices provided on the aircraft instrument panel for informing the pilot as to his orientation in space, particularly while flying in obscure visibility, there are instruments described as flight directors, artificial horizons, directional gyros, and bank-and-turn indicators. All contemporary devices of this kind, individually or collectively used by the pilot in controlling and guiding his aircraft, are biologically deficient in that:
a. They fail to present a visual stimulus that is the equivalent of the "real" world environment observed by the pilot under normal visibility through the windshield. PA1 c. They induce pilot vertigo and disorientation due to faulty sensing when flight is conducted in the "subjective" world of obscure visibility. PA1 a. The spatial orientation of the aircraft and its movement about its axes when viewing the display is immediately perceived without eye movement. In other words the pilot's central cone of vision fixed on the aircraft and related symbols of the display requires no change to detect any movement in roll, pitch and yaw of the aircraft. In my patent noted above some eye movement is needed. It is well known now that the eye moves in jerks while reading, or while scanning instruments. PA1 b. The display element of the invention and its mechanism is disassociated from the sensors that supply all display elements. This results in a saving of space and weight on the instrument panel and enhances maintenance ease by remotely and conveniently locating the driving sensors of the invention.
b. The information presented in "split", requiring scanning in order to form a perception of aircraft orientation and movement in space.
Accordingly the present invention provides a display for the pilot (during flight and landing in obscure visibility) that is an effective equivalent of the real world view through the windshield in normal visibility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
My U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,191 entitled "Aircraft Blind Landing Device and Flight Director System," dated Feb. 28, 1967 is an example of the prior art. The present invention is an improvement of marked utility over my prior invention in two fundamental ways, namely:
This improvement is brought about by the improved mechanism in which the roll (aircraft) symbol is superimposed over the yaw and pitch symbols in a manner that eliminates eye movements while maintaining or changing aircraft orientation in space. This feature eliminates pilot vertigo or disorientation and provides for precise control of the aircraft. With precise control maintained, the pilot can consult the associated indicia of guidance, namely the horizontal and vertical path indicators, and react to them in a highly effective manner.